Apply for consent for works affecting ordinary watercourses

The following notes should assist you in the completion of the application form and the submission of supporting documentation. Each section relates to the same numbered section found on the application form:

Before starting

There are a few technical details to consider when submitting designs for piping watercourses. These refer to the access points for maintenance (i.e. inspection chambers or manholes). They should be provided under the following circumstances: 

• Where a drain or pipe changes direction horizontally by more than 30 degrees
• When there’s a change in pipe diameter
• Where there is a major junction with other pipes
• Every 45m for straight run pipes/ culverts
• Every 100m for man-entry culverts

These alterations to our standing advice overrule the policy document to be more in line with national guidance.

Certain structures and features may need consent and others may not. On top of this, some might instead need temporary consent. This below helpful diagram shows examples from common works to watercourses to help make consenting a bit clearer. If you have works that do not appear on the diagram, please consults us prior to submitting an application at floods@suffolk.gov.uk.

Suffolk County Council as the Local Lead Flood Authority are authorised by section 23(2) of the Land Drainage Act 1991 (as amended by the Flood and Water Management Act 2010) to charge an application fee in relation to the consents required.

These fees are payable to cover our costs for examining the proposals.

The amount of the fee is £50 per structure.

Value Added Tax is not applicable.

Cheques should be made payable to “Suffolk County Council”.

You should note that this charge is payable in respect of each structure and the box on the application form should be completed as appropriate.

Please contact your local Suffolk County Council, Flood & Water Management office if you are in doubt about the fee applicable.

If possible please submit your completed application, with the necessary fee and supporting documents, via email to floods@suffolk.gov.uk.

If you are unable to send the application digitally, please post all of the relevant documentation and fee to:

Telephone: 0345 606 6067

Legal provisions

For your information the legal provisions are as follows:

Land Drainage Act 1991 as amended by the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 (FWMA10)
Section 23(1) of the Land Drainage Act 1991 (LDA91) provides:

Failure to apply for a consent

Under the Land Drainage Act 1991 if works are executed without first obtaining a formal written consent from us we have the power to serve a notice under Section 24(1) requiring you to abate the nuisance within a specified time.

Failure to comply with the notice is a criminal offence. Steps may be also be taken to abate the nuisance and recover from you the expenses so incurred.

Data Protection Act 1988

The Data Protection Act, which came into force in March 2000, requires that Suffolk County Council, as a Lead Local Flood Authority, advises its customers how data relating to individuals will be processed and disclosed.

The information provided will be processed by Suffolk County Council as the Lead Local Flood Authority to deal with your application, to monitor compliance with the Licence/permit/registration conditions, to process renewals, and for maintaining the relevant public register(s).

We may also process and/or disclose it in connection with the following:

consulting with the public, public bodies and other organisations (e.g. Health and Safety Executive, Local Authorities, Emergency Services, DEFRA, Environment Agency, Internal Drainage Boards) on environmental issues;

• carrying out statistical analysis, research and development on environmental issues;
• providing public register information to enquirers;
• investigating possible breaches of environmental law and taking any resulting action;
• preventing breaches of environmental law; and
• assessing customer service satisfaction and improving our service.

We may pass the information on to our agents/representatives to do these things on our behalf.

If you are in any doubt about whether you need to apply for a consent, how to complete the application forms or any other aspect of your application please contact:

Telephone: 0345 606 6067

If possible, please submit your completed application via email to floods@suffolk.gov.uk.